PICA | |
| |
Address | 51 James St, Northbridge Perth Australia |
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Coordinates | 31°56′59″S 115°51′37″E / 31.9498°S 115.8602°E |
Type | Bar, music venue |
Website | |
picabar |
Picabar is a bar and music venue located in Northbridge, Western Australia, within the Perth Cultural Centre. [1] It is situated adjacent to the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) for which the bar is named. [2]
The bar features an outdoor courtyard with access from the Cultural Centre, near the steps and plaza, [2] [3] as well as outdoor tables along the edge of the cultural centre. [4]
It operates within the old Perth Boys School building, [2] part of the Perth Central School complex in the early 1900s. [5] [6]
As of November 2018 [update], it employs 15 staff. [2]
Picabar is the family business of brothers Brian and Conor Buckley, and Brian's wife Melissa Bowen. It opened in 2012 in a space that was unused and had been boarded up for 12 years. [4] [7] The bar owners subleased the space from PICA with a six-month lease, and an option for a longer, ten-year term subject to PICA's lease from the state government being renewed.
PICA's lease was not renewed, and both PICA and Picabar then ended up operating on month-to-month leases. [4] Picabar's owners later stated that they were given assurances there would eventually be a long-term arrangement, [2] [7] [8] a claim denied by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries' director general Duncan Ord. [9]
In October 2018, ownership of the precinct was transferred from the government to the Perth Theatre Trust (PTT), [10] which terminated PICA's lease, [9] and hence Picabar's sub-lease, with three weeks notice. [10] [9] PICA was to be given a new sublease from the PTT, excluding the bar area, which was to be opened up to an expression of interest process. [9] By early November, the government gave Picabar a temporary reprieve until March 2019, [2] and Culture and Arts minister David Templeman intervened to ensure Picabar's owners would be given the first preference in negotiations. [10]
Public outrage led to a campaign to retain Picabar, culminating in a "Save Picabar" petition on Change.org that attracted 11,000 signatures, [11] including direct competitors and other members of the state's hospitality industry. [12] On 15 October 2019, a new five-year lease was signed, [13] with an option for an extension. [14] The lease requires renovations to be undertaken, with allowance for additional alfresco space. [10] The incident, and the "people power" that saved Picabar, received national media coverage. [15]
The venue was substantially renovated in 2020. [1]
The bar features prominently in Perth youth culture as a hangout and social fixture. It has a particular association with hipster culture, being described by The West Australian as "somewhere between a dive bar and a hipster hangout". [16] The bar is a regular topic of local internet culture, with the Instagram meme page 'meet_me_at_pica' regularly posting memes about the venue and associated youth culture. [17]
Other name(s): ... Perth Boys School
PICA | |
| |
Address | 51 James St, Northbridge Perth Australia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 31°56′59″S 115°51′37″E / 31.9498°S 115.8602°E |
Type | Bar, music venue |
Website | |
picabar |
Picabar is a bar and music venue located in Northbridge, Western Australia, within the Perth Cultural Centre. [1] It is situated adjacent to the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) for which the bar is named. [2]
The bar features an outdoor courtyard with access from the Cultural Centre, near the steps and plaza, [2] [3] as well as outdoor tables along the edge of the cultural centre. [4]
It operates within the old Perth Boys School building, [2] part of the Perth Central School complex in the early 1900s. [5] [6]
As of November 2018 [update], it employs 15 staff. [2]
Picabar is the family business of brothers Brian and Conor Buckley, and Brian's wife Melissa Bowen. It opened in 2012 in a space that was unused and had been boarded up for 12 years. [4] [7] The bar owners subleased the space from PICA with a six-month lease, and an option for a longer, ten-year term subject to PICA's lease from the state government being renewed.
PICA's lease was not renewed, and both PICA and Picabar then ended up operating on month-to-month leases. [4] Picabar's owners later stated that they were given assurances there would eventually be a long-term arrangement, [2] [7] [8] a claim denied by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries' director general Duncan Ord. [9]
In October 2018, ownership of the precinct was transferred from the government to the Perth Theatre Trust (PTT), [10] which terminated PICA's lease, [9] and hence Picabar's sub-lease, with three weeks notice. [10] [9] PICA was to be given a new sublease from the PTT, excluding the bar area, which was to be opened up to an expression of interest process. [9] By early November, the government gave Picabar a temporary reprieve until March 2019, [2] and Culture and Arts minister David Templeman intervened to ensure Picabar's owners would be given the first preference in negotiations. [10]
Public outrage led to a campaign to retain Picabar, culminating in a "Save Picabar" petition on Change.org that attracted 11,000 signatures, [11] including direct competitors and other members of the state's hospitality industry. [12] On 15 October 2019, a new five-year lease was signed, [13] with an option for an extension. [14] The lease requires renovations to be undertaken, with allowance for additional alfresco space. [10] The incident, and the "people power" that saved Picabar, received national media coverage. [15]
The venue was substantially renovated in 2020. [1]
The bar features prominently in Perth youth culture as a hangout and social fixture. It has a particular association with hipster culture, being described by The West Australian as "somewhere between a dive bar and a hipster hangout". [16] The bar is a regular topic of local internet culture, with the Instagram meme page 'meet_me_at_pica' regularly posting memes about the venue and associated youth culture. [17]
Other name(s): ... Perth Boys School